Printing of confidential documents

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for printing a document over a network are described. The system may include an authentication code generation module coupled to a processor to receive a document to be printed from a user. Further, the authentication code generation module ascertains whether the document is confidential, based on a confidentiality determination criterion. On ascertaining that the document is confidential, an authentication code corresponding to the document is generated to provide print control to a predefined set of authorized users. The authentication code is provided to the predefined set of authorized users including the user.

BACKGROUND

Generally, in a shared printer environment, a plurality of computingdevices is connected to at least one printer over a network. Print jobscan be assigned to the printer by a user using any of the computingdevices connected to the network. Nowadays, to increase mobility, reducecosts, and simplify IT administration, cloud printing solutions arebeing implemented in the shared printer environments for centralizedprint management. In such a case, the printer receives an assigned printjob from the computing devices through the cloud printing solution.

In a typical cloud printing environment, the documents to be printed maybe mailed or uploaded to the cloud by one of the users. Further, suchdocuments may be printed upon receiving a print request, through thecloud printing solution, from any one of the users connected to theprinter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

The detailed description is provided with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Thesame numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like featuresand components.

FIG. 1 a schematically illustrates a printing system, according to anexample of the present subject matter.

FIG. 1 b illustrates a shared printer environment implementing theprinting system, according to an example of the present subject matter.

FIG. 1 c illustrates the shared printer environment implementing theprinting system, according to another example of the present subjectmatter.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method for generation of authentication codes forprinting a document over a network, according to an example of thepresent subject matter.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for printing a document over a network,according to an example of the present subject matter.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for printing a document over a network,according to another example of the present subject matter.

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer readable medium storing instructions forprinting a document, according to an example of the present subjectmatter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present subject matter relates to systems and methods for printing adocument over a network, such as cloud printing network.

In a typical cloud printing network, printers may be connected to userdevices, such as laptops, personal computers, work stations, and printservers over a network referred to as cloud. Thus, in such a network,multiple users may share a common a printer, which in turn providesbenefits in terms of reduction in IT related costs. Further, in such anetwork, a user may remotely access the printer, thereby providingmobility to the user. For example, even though the printer may be at onegeographic location, the user may provide a request for printing adocument from another geographic location.

Generally, in cloud printing network, the users may electronically mail(email) the documents to be printed, or scan and upload such documents.A variety of documents, for example, confidential documents, may beprovided for printing. Such documents may be stored at the cloud and maybe printed in future by any one of the users connected to the cloud.Thus, in case a confidential document is stored in the cloud by one ofthe users, another user, who is not authorized to access such document,may print the document, thereby making cloud printing solutionvulnerable to security issues. Further, oftentimes the users, due totheir limited technical knowledge, may not be aware of various passwordprotection mechanisms and tools to secure a soft copy of a documentbefore providing it for print. Thus, it may be a tedious and complicatedtask for such users to ensure the confidentiality of the documents.

Systems and methods for printing confidential documents are describedherein. In an example, a document may be provided by a user to a printerfor printing in a shared printer environment. On receiving a print jobincluding the document to be printed, it may be determined whether thedocument is confidential, based on a confidentiality determinationcriterion. The confidentiality determination criterion may be, forexample, to detect the presence of at least one confidential code at oneof predefined locations in a document. The confidential codes that maybe used for determining the confidentiality may be predefined by a user.Further, the confidential codes may be handwritten or typewritten. Uponreceiving the document, if it is determined that the document isconfidential, an authentication code is generated to provide printcontrol to authorized users. The print control may be understood as acontrol provided to a user for printing a document.

Further, a user may provide a print request for printing a document, forexample, a document already stored in the shared printer environment.Upon receiving the print request, it may be determined whether the printrequest is for printing a confidential document. Thus, it may bedetermined whether the document was marked confidential based on theconfidentiality determination criterion. If it is determined that thedocument was marked confidential, the user may be prompted to providethe authentication code. In case a valid authentication code is providedby the user, the document may be printed; else the user may not beallowed to print the document.

Thus, the access to print the documents may be provided to authorizedusers and an unauthorized user may not be able to print the document,thereby ensuring the confidentiality of the documents that areaccessible for printing in a shared printer environment. Further, thepresent subject matter involves minimal user intervention, which makesit simple to implement and enhances user experience.

The above systems and methods are further described in conjunction withthe following. It should be noted that the description and figuresmerely illustrate the principles of the present subject matter. It willthus be appreciated that various arrangements that embody the principlesof the present subject matter, although not explicitly described orshown herein, can be devised from the description and are includedwithin its scope. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles,aspects, and embodiments of the present subject matter, as well asspecific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalentsthereof.

FIG. 1 a schematically illustrates components of a printing system 102,according to an example of the present subject matter.

In one implementation, the printing system 102 includes a processor 112and modules 118 communicatively coupled to the processor 112. Themodules 118, amongst other things, include routines, programs, objects,components, and data structures, which perform particular tasks orimplement particular abstract data types. The modules 118 may also beimplemented as, signal processor(s), state machine(s), logiccircuitries, and/or any other device or component that manipulatesignals based on operational instructions. Further, the modules 118 canbe implemented by a hardware, by computer-readable instructions executedby a processing unit, or by a combination thereof. In oneimplementation, the modules 118 include an authentication codegeneration module 120. In an example, the authentication code generationmodule 120 receives, from a user, a document for printing. Theauthentication code generation module 120 may further ascertain whetherthe document is confidential, based on a confidentiality determinationcriterion. On ascertaining that the document is confidential, anauthentication code corresponding to the document may be generated. Theauthentication code may be generated to provide print control to apredefined set of authorized users including the user who provided thedocument for printing. Further, the authentication code may be to thepredefined set of authorized users to provide the print control. Thevarious components of printing system 102 are described in detail inconjunction with FIGS. 1 b and 1 c.

FIGS. 1 b and 1 c illustrate a shared printer environment 100implementing the printing system 102, according to an example of thepresent subject matter. The shared printer environment 100 may include,for example, an enterprise environment and a central printer networkenvironment implemented in various institutions, such as library,universities, and hospitals. The shared printer environment 100 includesa plurality of user devices 104-1, 104-2, . . . and 104-N coupled to aprinter 106 over a network 108, such as a cloud printing network.

The user devices 104-1, 104-2, . . . , 104-N, may be collectivelyreferred to as user devices 104, and individually referred to as a userdevice 104, hereinafter. The user devices 104 can include, but are notrestricted to, desktop computers, laptops, smart phones, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), tablets, and the like. The user devices 104may be communicatively coupled to the printing system 102 over thenetwork 108 through one or more communication links, for example, viadial-up modem connections, cable links, and digital subscriber lines(DSL), wireless or satellite links, or any other suitable form ofcommunication through the network 108.

The network 108 may be a wireless network, a wired network, or acombination thereof. The network 108 can also be an individual networkor a collection of many such individual networks, interconnected witheach other and functioning as a single large network, e.g., the Internetor an intranet. The network 108 can include different types of networks,such as intranet, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), theinternet, and such. The network 108 may either be a dedicated network ora shared network, which represents an association of the different typesof networks that use a variety of protocols, for example, HypertextTransfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (TCP/IP), etc., to communicate with each other. The network 108may also include individual networks, such as, but not limited to,Global System for Communication (GSM) network, UniversalTelecommunications System (UMTS) network, and Long Term Evolution (LTE)network. Further, it may be understood that the communication betweenthe printing system 102, the user devices 104, and other entities maytake place based on the communication protocol compatible with thenetwork 108.

Further, the printing system 102 may be implemented in a server, a workstation, a printer, and the like. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1a, the printing system 102 may be implemented in a computing device 110provided in the network 108. In another example, as illustrated in FIG.1 b, the printing system 102 may be implemented in the printer 106. Theprinting system 102 includes a processor 112, and a memory 114 connectedto the processor 112.

The processor 112 may include microprocessors, microcomputers,microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units,state machines, logic circuitries and/or any other devices thatmanipulate signals and data based on computer-readable instructions.Among other capabilities, the processor 112 may fetch and executecomputer-readable instructions stored in the memory 114.

Functions of the various elements shown in the figures, including anyfunctional blocks labeled as “processor(s)”, may be provided through theuse of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executingcomputer-readable instructions.

The memory 114, communicatively coupled to the processor 112, caninclude any non-transitory computer-readable medium known in the artincluding, for example, volatile memory, such as static random accessmemory (SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and/ornon-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM), erasableprogrammable ROM, flash memories, hard disks, optical disks, andmagnetic tapes.

Further the printing system 102 includes interfaces 116. The interfaces116 may include a variety of commercially available interfaces, forexample, interfaces for peripheral device(s), such as data input outputdevices, referred to as I/O devices, storage devices, network device.The interfaces 116 may facilitate multiple communications within a widevariety of networks and protocol types, including wired networks andwireless networks, for example, WLAN, cellular, and satellite-basednetwork.

Further, the printing system 102 may include the module(s) 118. Themodules 118 may be coupled to the processor 112.

In an example, the modules 118 include the authentication codegeneration module 120, an authentication module 122, and other module(s)124. The other module(s) 124 may include computer-readable instructionsthat supplement applications or functions performed by the printingsystem 102.

Further, the printing system 102 may also include data 126. In oneimplementation, the data 126 includes confidentiality determination data128, authentication data 130, confidential documents 132, and other data134. The other data 134 may include data generated and saved by themodules 118 for providing various functionalities of the printing system102.

In an implementation, the printing system 102 may receive a print job,including a document that is to be printed by a user. The user mayprovide the document through a corresponding user device 104 over thenetwork 108. In an example, the user may email the document to an emailid corresponding to the printer. In another example, the user may uploadthe document to the computing device 110 in the cloud or to the printer.

The authentication code generation module 120 may determine whether thedocument is confidential or not based on a confidentiality determinationcriterion. The confidentiality determination criterion may be to checkfor presence of at least one confidential code on the document. Aconfidential code may be understood as a label or a tag that helpsindentify a document as confidential. Confidential codes may includepredefined terms, such as ‘confidential’, ‘private’, ‘privileged workproduct’, and ‘protected’. Further, the confidential codes may alsoinclude user defined terms, such as name of a user or a particularsymbol. Additionally, the confidential code may be handwritten ortypewritten in the document by way of text or an image. For example,consider a case where a user has a hard copy of the document and wishesto take multiple copies of this document. In said example, the user maymark the document as confidential by hand, i.e., the user may tag thedocument with one of the predefined confidential codes. Subsequently,the user may scan the document having the confidential code and provideit to the printing system 102 so that it may be accessed and printed infuture. Thus, owing to the provision of having handwritten confidentialcodes, the users, who may have limited technical knowledge, may beassured of the confidentiality of the documents being printed in theshared printer environment 100.

In another example, if a soft copy of the document is already availablewith the user, the user may electronically tag the document with theconfidential code. It will be understood that certain documents mayinherently have a confidential code provided thereon, for example,emails shared between two users or invoices sent by an enterprise to auser. Therefore, in such a case, a user may not have to tag the documentas confidential, thereby saving on time and resources.

Referring to the confidentiality determination criterion, in addition tospecifying a predefined set of confidential codes, the confidentialitydetermination criterion may also specify a set of predeterminedlocations in a document where the presence of the confidential codes isto be checked. For example, the confidentiality determination criterionmay be to check for presence of confidential code ‘private’ at thebottom of the document. In another example, the confidentialitydetermination criterion may be to check for presence of a user definedsymbol, say, “X” at any of the four corners of the document. In yetanother example, the confidentiality determination criterion may be tocheck for presence of a watermark. The confidentiality determinationcriterion may be configured by a user and may be stored in theconfidentiality determination data 128.

As mentioned earlier, the authentication code generation module 120 maydetermine whether the document is confidential or not based on theconfidentiality determination criterion. The printing system 102 maydetect the presence of confidential codes using techniques, such as anoptical character recognition (OCR) technique and an intelligentcharacter recognition (ICR) technique. If it is determined that thedocument is not confidential, the authentication code generation module120 may store the document for future use in the other data and follow ausual printing process. However, if it is determined that the documentis confidential, the authentication code generation module 120 may markit is as confidential and store the document in the confidentialdocuments 132. For the sake of explanation, the confidential documents132 have been illustrated external to other data 134, it will beunderstood that the confidential documents 132 may be internal to theother data 134 as well.

Further, the authentication code generation module 120 may generate anauthentication code to provide selective control for printing thedocument. In an example, the authentication code generation module 120may implement a random password generator to generate the authenticationcode. The authentication code may be a personal identification number(PIN) or a password that helps in establishing identity of a predefinedset of users. The predefined set of users may include one or more userswho may be authorized to print a given confidential document. Thepredefined set of users may be predefined by a user or an administrator.The predefined set of users may be stored in the authentication data130. Further, the authentication data 130 may include authenticationcodes associated with each of the documents marked as confidential.Thus, the authentication code provides integrity and authenticity to theprint control, thereby ensuring that control to print the document isprovided to an authorized user(s).

Further, the generated authentication code may be provided to thepredefined set of users. For example, the authentication code generationmodule 120 may email the authentication to an email id corresponding tothe user, who had sent a request to print the document. In anotherexample, the authentication code may be provided by way of a shortmessage service (sms). The authentication code generation module 120 mayfurther store the document for future use in the other data.

For the purpose of explanation and not as a limitation, it may beunderstood that the printing system 102 initiates a confidentialitydetermination phase upon receiving a document to be printed. Theconfidentiality determination phase may include determining whether thedocument is confidential and generating an authentication code, when thedocument is identified as confidential. The confidentialitydetermination phase may be followed by a printing phase.

The printing phase for printing the stored documents may be triggeredwhen a print request is provided by one of the users connected to thenetwork 108 through the user devices 104. Upon receiving a printrequest, the authentication module 122 may determine if the printrequest corresponds to a document that was marked as confidential in theconfidentiality determination phase. In case it is determined that thedocument is not marked confidential, a print trigger is triggered.Referring to FIG. 1 a, where the printing system 102 is provided in thecomputing device, the authentication module 122 may provide the printtrigger to the printer. The printer on receiving such a print triggermay print the requested document. Alternately, in case the printingsystem 102 is provided in the printer, as illustrated in FIG. 1 b, theauthentication module 122 may provide the print trigger to a printingunit (not shown in the figures) of the printer 106.

However, upon receiving the print request, if the authentication module122 determines that the print request corresponds to a document markedas confidential, the user may be requested to provide the authenticationcode associated with the document. Thus, the authentication module 122prompts the user to provide the authentication code that was generatedearlier and provided to the predefined set of users. In an example, theuser may email the authentication code to the email id corresponding tothe printing system 102. In another example, the user may provide theauthentication on an input unit provided on the printer.

Based on the authentication code provided by the user, theauthentication module 122 may ascertain whether the user is authorizedto print the document. If it is determined that the authentication codeis valid, the authentication module 122 provides a print trigger toprint the document. Alternately, if it is determined that theauthentication code is not valid, a notification is triggered. Thenotification may be provided to the user, a predefined set of authorizedusers, or both. The notification may be for example, an error message tothe user and an alert to the predefined set of authorized users. In anexample, the authentication module 122 may provide a threshold number ofattempts to the user to provide a valid authentication code. In case theuser is not able to provide the valid authentication code in thethreshold number of attempts, the authentication module 122 may bar theuser from printing any document or that particular document.Additionally, the authentication module 122 may also provide the alertto the predefined set of users. Thus, an unauthorized user may beprevented from printing a confidential document, thereby ensuring thesecurity of the documents printed in a shared network environment.

The present subject matter may be understood with the help of anexample. Consider a case where a user has five documents that are to beprinted. The user may have soft copies of four documents and a hard copyof one document. Further, since the documents are to be provided to theprinting system 102 for printing, the user may scan the fifth document.Further, the fifth document may be confidential, so the user may tag thedocument with a confidential code. For instance, the user may write“Protected” at the top of the fifth document and scan the documenthaving the confidential code. In addition to the fifth document, one ofthe documents in the form of soft copies may be confidential. Considerthat this document has a confidential code, “Secure Document”,typewritten at the bottom of the document.

The printing system 102, upon receiving the five documents, may initiatea confidentiality determination phase and determine whether any of thereceived documents are confidential. For the ease of explanation, theconfidentiality determination criterion is to check for presence ofconfidential codes, “Protected” and “Secure Document”, at the top or atthe bottom of a document. Based on the confidentiality determinationcriterion, it may be determined that two of the received documents areconfidential and these two documents may be marked confidential.Further, an authentication code may be generated for each of thedocuments. It will be understood that a common authentication code mayalso be generated for both the documents. For example, in case the printjob includes a set of documents then a common authentication code may begenerated for the set. The received documents are stored so that they beaccessed and printed in future.

In order to print the documents, the user may provide a request to printthe documents. Upon receiving such a request, the printing system 102may determine that two of the documents were marked confidential in theconfidentiality determination phase. The printing system 102 may promptthe user to provide authentication code(s) for printing the documentsthat were marked confidential and for rest of the three documents aprinter trigger may be generated. Based on the authentication code(s)provided by the user, a print trigger may be provided to print the twodocuments marked as confidential.

Methods 200, 300 and 400 are described in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4,respectively, for printing a document over a network, according to anembodiment of the present subject. The document may be printed in ashared printer environment, such as the shared printer environment 100.

The order in which the methods 200, 300, and 400 are described is notintended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of thedescribed method blocks can be combined in any order to implement themethods 200, 300, and 400 or an alternative method. Additionally,individual blocks may be deleted from the method 200, 300, and 400without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matterdescribed herein. Furthermore, the methods 200, 300, and 400 can beimplemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combinationthereof.

It would be understood that the methods 200, 300, and 400 can beperformed by programmed computing devices, for example, based oninstructions retrieved from non-transitory computer readable media. Thecomputer readable media can include machine-executable orcomputer-executable instructions to perform whole or a part of thedescribed method. The computer readable media may be, for example,digital memories, magnetic storage media, such as a magnetic disks andmagnetic tapes, hard drives, or optically readable data storage media.

Referring to FIG. 2, the method 200 may be performed by anauthentication code generation module, such as the authentication codegeneration module 120.

At block 202, a print job including a document to be printed over anetwork is received. The document is provided by a user through acorresponding user device coupled to a shared printer over the network.In an example, the document may be received through an email or a scanto cloud feature.

At block 204, it is determined whether the received document isconfidential based on a confidentiality determination criterion. In anexample, the confidentiality determination criterion may include checksfor presence of confidential codes at one of the predefined locations inthe document. The confidential codes may be a handwritten code or mayalready be included in the electronic document. If it is determined thatthe document is not confidential, the method 200 proceeds to (‘Nobranch’) block 206.

At block 206, the document is stored for future access, for example, forprinting at a later stage.

Referring back to block 204, if it is determined that the document isconfidential, the method 200 proceeds to (‘Yes branch’) block 208.

At block 208, an authentication code is generated to ensureconfidentiality of the document. The authentication code may begenerated using, for example, a random password generation technique.The authentication code is generated to provide access to print thedocument.

At block 210, the authentication code is provided to a predefined set ofauthorized users. The predefined set of users includes the user, whoprovided the print job, also referred to as a requestor. Thus, thepredefined set of users is enabled to print the document. In an example,the authentication code may be provided by way of emails and SMSs.

At block 212, the document is marked confidential and stored for futureuse. Further, the authentication code generated may also be associatedwith the document so that when a print is requested for the document,authenticity of a user requesting the print may confirmed based on theauthentication code.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 illustrate methods 300 and 400 to print a document,according to an example of the present subject matter. The methods 300and 400 may be performed by an authentication module, such as theauthentication module 122 of the printing system 102.

Referring to FIG. 3, at block 302 a print request to print a document isreceived from a user.

At block 304, it is determined whether the document was markedconfidential. For example, it may be determined whether the document wasmarked confidential during a confidentiality determination phase.

At block 306, the user is requested to provide an authentication codecorresponding to the document, based on the determining.

At block 308 based on the authentication code, a print trigger to printthe document is provided.

Referring to FIG. 4, at block 402, a print request to print a documentover a network. The print request may be provided by a user through auser device, such as the user device 104 connected to a printer over thenetwork.

At block 404, it is determined whether the document was markedconfidential. In an example, the method 200 is implemented to mark adocument as confidential. Further, the document may be markedconfidential during a confidentiality determination phase. If at block404 it is determined that the document was not marked confidential, themethod 400 proceeds to (‘No branch’) to block 406.

At block 406, a print trigger is provided to print the document. Theprinter, on receiving such a print trigger, prints the requesteddocument.

However, if at block 404, it is determined that the document was markedconfidential, the method 400 proceeds to (‘Yes branch’) to block 408.

At block 408, the user is requested to provide an authentication codecorresponding to the document. In an example, the authentication code isrequested to determine whether the user is authorized to print thedocument or not. Further, the user is requested to provide theauthentication code that is generated and shared with the user duringthe confidentiality determination phase.

At block 410, it is ascertained whether the authentication code providedby the user is valid or not. If at block 410, it is determined that theauthentication code is valid, the method 400 proceeds to (‘Yes branch’)to block 406, where the print trigger is provided to print the document.

However, if at block 410, it is determined that the authentication codeis not valid, the method 400 proceeds to (‘No branch’) to block 412.

At block 412, a notification indicating that the authentication code isinvalid, is provided. For example, the notification may indicate it tothe user that the print request is discarded. In another example, thenotification may alert authorized user(s) that an unauthorized attempthas been made to print the document. Thus, the notification may beprovided to the user, the predefined set of authorized users, or both.

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer readable medium 500 storing instructionsfor printing a document, according to an example of the present subjectmatter. In one example, the computer readable medium 500 iscommunicatively coupled to a processing resource 502 over acommunication link 504.

For example, the processing resource 502 can be a computing device, suchas a server, a laptop, a desktop, a mobile device, and the like. Thecomputer readable medium 500 can be, for example, an internal memorydevice or an external memory device or any commercially available nontransitory computer readable medium. In one implementation, thecommunication link 504 may be a direct communication link, such as anymemory read/write interface. In another implementation, thecommunication link 504 may be an indirect communication link, such as anetwork interface. In such a case, the processing resource 502 canaccess the computer readable medium 500 through a network 506. Thenetwork 506, like the network 108, may be a single network or acombination of multiple networks and may use a variety of differentcommunication protocols.

The processing resource 502 and the computer readable medium 500 mayalso be communicatively coupled to data sources 508 over the network.The data sources 508 can include, for example, databases and computingdevices. The data sources 508 may be used by the requesters and theagents to communicate with the processing unit 502.

In one implementation, the computer readable medium 500 includes a setof computer readable instructions, such as authentication codegeneration module 120 and the authentication module 122. The set ofcomputer readable instructions can be accessed by the processingresource 502 through the communication link 504 and subsequentlyexecuted to perform acts for printing of electronic messages.

On execution by the processing resource 502, the authentication codegeneration module 120 receives a print job including the document to beprinted. For the purpose of explanation, on receiving the print job, theauthentication generation module 120 may initiate a confidentialitydetermination phase. In the confidentiality determination phase, theauthentication code generation module 120 may determine whether thedocument includes a confidential code. The confidential code may behandwritten code or typewritten code. On determining that the documentincludes the confidential code, the document may be marked asconfidential. Further, the authentication code generation module 120 maygenerate an authentication code corresponding to the document, when thedocument includes the confidential code. The authentication code may beprovided to a predefined set of authorized users.

Further, the authentication module 122 may receive a print request froma user to print the document. On receiving the print request, it may bedetermined whether the document was marked confidential during theconfidentiality determination phase. When it is determined that documentwas marked confidential, the user may be requested to provide theauthentication code corresponding to the document. The authenticationcode may be verified to provide print control to the user and a printtrigger may be generated when the authentication code is verified.Further, in case the authentication code is not verified or, in otherwords, it is ascertained that that the authentication code is invalid anotification indicating the same may be generated

Although implementations for printing documents over a network have beendescribed in language specific to structural features and/or methods, itis to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limitedto the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specificfeatures and methods are disclosed as example implementations forprinting a document over a network.

I claim:
 1. A printing system for printing documents over a network, theprinting system comprising: a processor; and a memory storing machinereadable instructions, which when executed by the processor cause theprocessor to: receive, from a user, a document including content to beprinted; ascertain whether the document is confidential, based on adetermination as to whether text indicating that the document isconfidential is present in the content to be printed; in response toascertaining that the document is confidential, generate anauthentication code corresponding to the document to provide printcontrol of the document to authorized users, wherein the authorizedusers includes the user, and wherein the authentication code is a codeto ascertain that the authorized users are authorized to print thedocument; and provide the authentication code to the authorized users toprovide the print control.
 2. The printing system as claimed in claim 1,wherein the determination of whether text indicating that the documentis confidential is present in the content to be printed includes adetermination as to whether the text indicating that the document isconfidential is located at at least one of a plurality of predefinedlocations in the document.
 3. The printing system as claimed in claim 2,wherein the text indicating that the document is confidential includes ahandwritten text in the content to be printed.
 4. The printing system asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the processor marks the document asconfidential in response to ascertaining that the document isconfidential.
 5. The printing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein themachine readable instructions are further to cause the processor to:receive a print request from the user to print the document; determinewhether the document was marked confidential; request the user toprovide the authentication code corresponding to the document inresponse to a determination that the document was marked confidential;and generate a print trigger to print the document in response toreceiving the authentication code from the user.
 6. A method forprinting a document over a network, the method comprising: receiving thedocument including content to be printed; determining whether thedocument is confidential, based on a determination as to whether textindicating that the document is confidential is present in the contentto be printed; in response to a determination that the document isconfidential, generating an authentication code corresponding to thedocument, wherein the authentication code is a code to be used byauthorized users in a predefined group to verify that the authorizedusers are authorized to print the document; receiving a print requestfrom a user to print the document; determining whether the document wasmarked confidential; requesting the user to provide an authenticationcode corresponding to the document in response to determining that thedocument was marked confidential; and providing a print trigger to printthe document in response to receiving a valid authentication code fromthe user.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 6 further comprising:ascertaining whether the authentication code provided by the user isvalid; and providing a notification to the user in response toascertaining that the authentication code provided by the user is notvalid.
 8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a set ofcomputer readable instructions that, when executed, cause a printingsystem to: receive a document including content to be printed; determinewhether the document is confidential, based on a determination as towhether a text indicating that the document is confidential is presentin the document; in response to a determination that the document isconfidential, generate an authentication code corresponding to thedocument, wherein the authentication code is a code to be used byauthorized users in a predefined group to verify that the authorizedusers are authorized to print the document; receive a request to printthe document from a user; determine whether a document was markedconfidential; request the user to provide an authentication codecorresponding to the document in response to a determination that thedocument was marked confidential; verify whether the authentication codeprovided by the user is valid; and generate a print trigger to print thedocument in response to a verification that the authentication codeprovided by the user is valid.
 9. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium as claimed in claim 8, wherein the instructions executed furthercause the printing system to: provide the authentication code to thepredefined group of authorized users.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium as claimed in claim 8, wherein the textindicating that the document is confidential is one of a handwrittencode and a typewritten code.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium as claimed in claim 8, wherein the instructions executed furthercause the printing system to generate a notification to the user inresponse to a verification that the authentication code provided by theuser is invalid.